Playing football in the Big Ten Conference will be following family tradition for Nick Mangieri.

A senior at Dunlap, Mangieri in June committed to play in college at Indiana University. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound linebacker-tight end will officially sign with IU in February.

"I really liked the coaches, the facilities and the school," Mangieri said. "I could have visited some other places, but after visiting Indiana I knew that's where I wanted to go. I didn't want the decision of where I'm going to college to be in the back of my mind while I'm focusing on football."

Mangieri is an honor-roll student at Dunlap and plans to study business at IU.

His brother P.J., a 2009 graduate, will be a third-year starting long-snapper this fall at Nebraska, set to debut as the newest member of the Big Ten.

Two of his maternal uncles, former Richwoods standouts Ed Sutter and Dan Sutter, both went on to play linebacker at Northwestern. Ed Sutter led the Big Ten in tackles 1990. He eventually played 79 games in the NFL, with Minnesota, Cleveland and Baltimore.

Their father and Nick's grandfather, Ken Sutter Sr., graduated from Woodruff and played center at the University of Illinois on the 1955-57 teams.

"After my dad (Peter) graduated high school he came to Peoria and walked on with the Bradley baseball team, even though he went to school at Abingdon, and back then they didn't even have a baseball team," Nick Mangieri said. "So I come from a pretty athletic family on both sides."

Big and strong, with exceptional speed and soft hands, Mangieri last season was large-school all-area with the Journal Star and first team in the Mid-Illini Conference. ESPN.com ranks him as the second-best linebacker and 16th overall college prospect in Illinois. At Indiana he projects as a defensive end or tight end.

At Dunlap he played some as a freshman, and started at linebacker and receiver as a 15-year-old sophomore.

"The first game I started, I remember being nervous, but not scared," Mangieri said. "After that I was fine."

Mangieri's sophomore season was Brett Cazalet's first as head coach at Dunlap.

"He was big and quick back then, but he's gotten a lot stronger and he's grown into his body," Cazalet said. "The big difference last year was he started to understand his defensive reads. He's a really smart kid. After about two years he pretty much had it figured out."

At tight end last season Mangieri had 28 catches for 473 yards and four touchdowns.

"I've never really had a tight end in my offense, but last year we put one in just for him," Cazalet said. "He's got such great hands and he knows how to use his big body."

Page 2 of 2 - With his college plans in place, Mangieri said one of his goals this fall is to help lead a young Dunlap team to a playoffs victory. The Eagles lost first-round postseason games each of the last two years.

"We want to go father in the playoffs than we have," Mangieri said. "We've got a lot of sophomores and some younger guys who are going to have to step up. I just tell them to play hard.

"Once they get that first game under their belt, they'll be fine."

THE BASIC STUFF

Last season: 7-3 (5-2 Mid-Illini, tied second). Playoffs: lost first round in 5A.

Likely playoff class: 5A

Coach: Brett Cazalet (13-7 in two seasons at Dunlap; 35-15 in five seasons overall).